Full Contact Catan: Play Folk #15

For this game we went back to a classic model that works: a run-around game on the great lawn of Grand Park in downtown LA. The weather was perfect and we had a huge turnout: about 22 people at the peak.

Look at this fun bunch! A park ranger took the photo for us.

This game was incredibly easy to produce because Megan H., who wasn't present, gave us ALL the materials we needed to play the game. How convenient is that?! Thanks Megan. We'll get you your stuff back soon.

We had some 1st time players, as well as some of our die-hards, but also some Play Folk friends whom we hadn't seen for a while, including Vanessa "V-Goh" Goh, formerly of the UCLA Quidditch Team, who came out to show us a couple things about athleticism. She brought her two housemates, and the 3 of them all elected to be the Knight for the first round of the game. The Knight is the player who can tag people.

Jackie innovated the bag-as-pouch technique for collecting resource balls.

I explained at the start of the game that "full contact" is not exactly an accurate way to describe this game, although it does make for good marketing material. The Knight can two-handed tag people, but other than that, it's not that...

Never mind. We had a huge injury in the first minutes of the first game. Oh dear. Accidents happen when you're playing rough, but nobody was a bad sport. The bonked nose in question belonged to one of the eager housemates. Ice was applied and the game went on.

This game, which we got from Ludocity, works great. Our first version was played with 3 teams and a small field. After blue and green tied for first (the iron-clad grip Red used to have on victory is long gone), we re-set with four teams and a much bigger field.

I reffed the first game, but Jackie Riddle stepped in to ref the second one so I got to play. This game is really fun. There were many surprising deployments of Development Cards, and an 8-second round can seem both long and short. I will remember Erin Dean diving to tag me, and she got me with one hand on the way down, but once on the ground she tagged me with two hands. "That one was two handed!" she cried horizontally, and it was.

Power Puff Dudes!

After a while, all the resources were in possessions of teams, but nobody had enough to buy what they needed and nobody would trade either. All the teams were all Knights. It was getting late, so we gave everyone truth serum regarding points on Development Cards, tallied up total VP, and awarded a winner. Slightly anti-climactic, but we all got out in time for our next appointments, and we had all run around until we were very nearly tuckered, which was the point after all.

Thanks to all who continue to keep the Play Folk dream alive.

The ranger told us to do a "silly one."